Blackstone, Lion Confirm Talks on Orangina
Updated from 1:08 a.m. EDT
OSAKA, Japan (
) --
Suntory
, the Japanese beverage company, is in talks to acquire European soft drink maker
Orangina
from
Blackstone
(BX) - Get Report
and
Lion Capital
, reports say.
Blackstone and Lion Capital confirmed Thursday they were in discussions "regarding the future ownership" or Orangina. "No agreement has been reached to date," the private-equity firms said in a joint statement.
A Suntory spokeswoman told the
Wall Street Journal
it was true the company was "negotiating," but didn't provide a timetable or the value of any transaction.
A report from
Bloomberg
says the purchase of Orangina would be for more than $2.6 billion, and could be agreed upon as soon as this week.
Bloomberg
cited a person familiar with the talks.
Blackstone and Lion Capital paid $2.6 billion in 2006 for Orangina, which makes other soft drinks besides its trademark orange beverage. Orangina, based outside Paris, had revenue in 2008 of $1.5 billion, according to the
Journal
.
Word of the talks is the second possible deal this week for a European consumer company.
Kraft
(KFT)
on Monday offered to buy
Cadbury
(CBY)
of the U.K. for $16.7 billion but the offer was swiftly rejected.
-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York
.
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